"I caught him with a heavy challenge and he wasn't happy at all" - Liverpool midfielder says Lionel Messi once called him a 'donkey' in angry tunnel spat 

Liverpool star James Milner recently recalled getting called a donkey by PSG forward Lionel Messi. The incident took place when the Englishman met the former Barcelona star in a Champions League clash.

Messi and Milner have met in the Champions League a few times, notably in two memorable fixtures. In one, the former Barcelona star nutmegged the Englishman during his time at Manchester City. In the other, Liverpool staged an epic comeback in 2019 against the Blaugrana at Anfield to win 4-0 after losing the first leg of their sem-final tie 3-0.

Milner has now claimed he was called a 'donkey' by the Argentine in the tunnel at half-time because of a strong tackle. He was quoted by the Daily Star as saying:

"I caught him with a heavy challenge... He [Lionel Messi] wasn't happy at all. When we went down the tunnel at half-time, I gave him a tap and said, 'Are you okay?' or something like that. And he went off on one. He was shouting 'burro', which means donkey but is also a general term in Spanish football for someone who goes around kicking opponents."

Milner added:

"I don't know if he realized I could understand Spanish, but he said, 'You did that because I nutmegged you.' I wasn't going to get into a debate with him … he nutmegs pretty much every player he comes up against, why would I take that personally?"

Liverpool star on getting nutmegged by Lionel Messi

Milner also heaped praise on the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward, labeling him the best player in the history of the sport. He recalled getting nutmegged by Lionel Messi at Camp Nou and said:

"I don't have a beef with [Lionel] Messi, he's an absolutely incredible player. In my eyes, he's the best there has ever been. The stuff he did in that game, stuff he has done his whole career, it makes him tough to play against."

"If you try and stop him, you can't be scared of being made to look foolish. I've done it. I've been nutmegged by him and it has been viewed a million times."

Milner and Messi could come face-to-face once again this year in the World Cup final if England and Arengtine manage to win their respective groups and knockout games.

In the Champions League, Liverpool and PSG will have to get past their respective Round of 16 ties to have any chance of facing each other.